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Video shows Austrian policemen abusing suspect during arrest

Aug 12, 2015

VIENNA - Two policemen in Austria were placed under investigation after a video showed them grabbing a handcuffed suspect during his arrest and throwing him to the ground, a police spokesman said Wednesday.

In the video, the suspect - a 27-year-old accused of stealing handbags - is seen standing with his back to the officers in a residential area of Vienna, while people walk past.

One of the officials suddenly yanks the man back and pushes him hard against a wall. The other policemen then grabs the suspect by the throat and throws him on the ground.

With his hands tied behind his back, the alleged thief yells in pain as he hits his head on the ground.

A witness who had caught the two-minute scene on camera sent the video to Austrian media, which published it late on Tuesday.

"It clearly looks like the force used by the two officers was completely out of proportion," police spokesman Johann Golob told AFP.

"The way they grabbed his throat is definitely not part of our way of doing things."